


Mistaken

by blackmustache



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-11
Updated: 2012-04-11
Packaged: 2017-11-03 11:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/380892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackmustache/pseuds/blackmustache
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field." ~ Neils Bohr</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistaken

**TITLE:** Mistaken  
 **AUTHOR:** Rach  
 **SUMMARY:** "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field." ~ Neils Bohr  
 **PAIRING:** Mal/Simon, Kaylee/Simon  
 **RATING:** PG-13.  
 **TIMELINE:** Post BDM, spoilers from the start.  


Mal was bored. He was also tired, and hungry. He’d been at the wheel since he’d made River go and get some sleep eight hours previously - though he wasn’t exactly fresh himself, the girl needed the sleep more. They hadn’t used the autopilot much since Wash had died - nobody could stand to see the chair empty.

He considered climbing straight down into his bunk, heaven knows he was tired enough to crash out right then and there, but instead forced himself to carry on into the mess hall. If he didn’t eat something now, he’d wake up in the morning with a hunger that no amount of protein bars and canned foods would be able to satisfy.

He heard the laughter coming from Kaylee’s room as he passed, and tried to ignore it.

He’d almost finished eating when the laughter got louder as Simon and Kaylee emerged from her bunk, joking and smiling and touching each other. By the time they reached the kitchen, they seemed to have forgotten why they’d even gotten out of bed. They’d been standing just outside the room, kissing in the hallway for at least five minutes when Mal finally cleared his throat.

"Since it would seem nobody cares that I said no on ship romances, you’d think you’d at least be able to keep it in your bunk."

Simon’s smile faltered as he whipped round at the sound of Mal’s voice. There was a time when Kaylee would have responded to that with a comment about Wash and Zoe, but since Wash died, it seemed like that was no longer a good argument to use. "I …" He trailed off slightly and looked back at Kaylee, who was blushing just a little, and wearing only one of Simon’s shirts. "We didn’t know anyone was here."

"Apparently."

Simon wasn’t sure what to say after that. Kaylee pulled away from Simon and stepped into the kitchen with a smile. "We just came to get something to eat. We won’t be long." She kept her grip on Simon’s hand and tugged at him to come behind her, so he reluctantly followed her into the room.

Mal pushed his chair out, scraping it violently on the floor and standing up. "You know what, do what you like." He dumped his plate into the sink and strode out of the room, muttering to himself. "Everybody always does anyway."

By the time he dropped down into his bunk, he was regretting being quite so sharp with the two of them. Kaylee deserved to be happy, he knew that. He just couldn’t help being jealous.

He undressed quickly, dumping his boots and socks on the floor, unbuttoning his shirt and leaving it where it fell. He didn’t even bother to undress the rest of the way; the tiredness had hit him all over again and he just wanted to get into bed.

Even though he knew he’d just dream about that night again.

****

He’d been on the bridge with Wash when Simon appeared, ready to argue about something, it would seem. No surprises there, considering that arguing was all he and Simon seemed to do these days. They were mid-fight when Wash interrupted them, not taking his eyes from the view in front of him.

"I would hold on to something, if I were you."

He sighed as Mal and Simon ignored him entirely. "Even if you DO have contacts, it’s not safe. How do you know they won’t turn you in?"

Simon gritted his teeth. "I don’t. But what use is having a doctor when the infirmary is completely empty of medical supplies?"

Mal glared back. "About as much use as a fully stocked infirmary and no doctor to go with it."

Simon opened his mouth to respond to that, but he didn’t have chance. The ship lurched to one side and he lost his balance, only managing to stay on his feet because Mal had reached out and hooked an arm around the doctor, keeping him steady.

Wash glanced towards them and rolled his eyes. "Told you to hold on."

Mal kept his arm on Simon longer than he probably should, or normally would. It wasn’t until Simon looked up at him, his face slightly red, and took a step back, that he even realised he was still doing it. He cleared his throat to try and cover the embarrassment.

"Like I said. You’re not leaving the ship."

Two days later, Simon had been patching up the new bullet wound in Mal’s shoulder with the supplies he’d managed to procure, trying hard not to say I told you so. It hadn’t worked.

"I told you we needed the supplies," he muttered.

Mal glared at him. "Just shut up and finish the job."

Simon raised an eyebrow at Mal’s sharpness. It had been a while since they’d been anything other than pleasant - or at the very least, civil - to each other. "Yes, _Captain_." He finished up the work and was about to tell Mal that he was free to leave, when a hand tightened around his wrist.

He looked down at his wrist, and then back up at Mal. There was an expression on the captain’s face that Simon couldn’t quite place, but he knew it was making his stomach twist in an unusual way.

"I shouldn’t have snapped." Mal’s voice was quiet, much quieter than Simon was used to.

Lowering his own voice to match Mal’s, Simon sighed. "No. You shouldn’t have."

He finished putting away the things he’d used on Mal, and left the room. Mal was still sitting there as Simon walked away, which the struck Simon as odd, but he wasn’t in the mood for games.

He’d been sitting on his bed, trying to make some headway with one of the medical journals he’d managed to find the last time they were planetside. He wasn’t getting very far - his mind kept drifting back to the look on Mal’s face as he’d left him in the infirmary. Something was out of place, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

It wasn’t until Mal appeared in the doorway that Simon realised _exactly_ what it was that was bothering Mal - this time it was there, plain as day, in the captain’s expression.

"I …" He trailed off before he’d even really started. Instead he walked into the room and sat in front of Simon on the bed, reaching out and cupping Simon’s chin in his hand. "This isn’t the type of thing I usually do," he started, his voice slightly raspier than usual. "But if Inara’s taught me nothing else, it’d be that I’ve a need to learn from my mistakes."

Simon stiffened at the mention of Inara. It wasn’t that he had anything against the companion, in fact he still considered her a friend. But her name seemed entirely inappropriate in this conversation, and he was about to point this out when Mal kissed him.

He seemed to be frozen to the spot, one hand on the bed, taking his weight, and the other resting loosely in his lap, and all he could think was that suddenly he didn’t care that Mal had mentioned Inara right before kissing him, because Mal was _kissing him._

It took him so long to break through the shock and kiss back that Mal was about to pull away, embarrassed that he’d apparently so badly misread the signals. When he finally responded, Mal’s whole body relaxed. Moving his hands from the bed, he gripped the tops of Simon’s arms and pushed the doctor back and into the bed.

When Simon woke the next morning, Mal was gone.

Over the following weeks, he got the distinct impression that Mal was avoiding him - he certainly seemed to be going out of his way to only come to the infirmary when he knew Simon had another patient in with him.

Simon was angry at first, angry that Mal would play with his emotions like this, and angry that Mal couldn’t admit to himself that he cared when he clearly did.

Another few weeks down the line, and Simon stopped being so angry. He realised that he should have known better - to expect that Mal could behave like a human being when it came to his feelings was naive, even for Simon.

****

Mal woke after another restless night spent dreaming of Simon. He never would have expected one night to have had such an effect on him, but it had. And now he’d left it too late, as usual, and Simon was with Kaylee.

Rubbing his eyes, he set his feet on the floor and cried out in pain. Bending down, he picked up his belt and sighed as he realised that the buckle had scraped and pierced the skin on the underside of his foot, and it was bleeding fairly heavily.

He would have to go and see Simon, much as he’d rather not. This was bound to result in a slight limp, and then Simon would probably just rant at him for not coming sooner, which was an experience he wouldn’t mind avoiding.

He was pleased to see that Kaylee wasn’t in the infirmary when he arrived. Walking in, he sat himself down, pulling off his boot and now-bloodstained sock. Simon raised an eyebrow.

"Forgotten how to say hello, have we?"

Mal scowled. "Just fix it."

Simon gritted his teeth, trying hard not to just tell Mal to get out and come back when he was in a better mood. "Say please."

Mal didn’t say please. In return, Simon made no effort to start cleaning the wound, and instead they just stared at each other, waiting for the other to break.

As it turned out, Mal broke first, but not in the way Simon had expected. He reached forward and wrapped his hands round the back of Simon’s neck, pulling their faces closer, and kissed him.

Simon didn’t kiss back. He pulled away, his face red with anger. "What are you doing, Mal?"

"I was-"

"I spent _weeks_ waiting, and hoping you might be interested," he interrupted. He didn’t really want to hear whatever Mal had to say. "You clearly weren’t, or if you were you couldn’t admit to it, and I got over it." He was still glaring at Mal, barely pausing for breath. "Do you think I’m just with Kaylee because I can’t have you?"

"I -"

Simon didn’t want to hear the answer. "Because that’s not the case. I love her, and I want to be with her." He pulled back and looked Mal straight in the eye. "I don’t _want_ you."  



End file.
